Ryan Wisniewski
La Reina Picante fusion roll showed some promise.
I love Mexican food. I love Japanese food. I love the idea of a restaurant that fuses the two legendary cuisines together, building on a foundation of shared ingredients and exploring the treasure trove of flavors unique to each culinary tradition.
But I do not love Cuco’s Mexican Fusion, the new restaurant that opened in May at 225 King St., formerly home to Restaurant Muramoto. The concept — while delicious in theory — is in execution a dysfunctional polygamous marriage of high-end Mexican, standard Tex-Mex and supermarket-quality sushi and sashimi.
The restaurant, one of several operating under the Cuco’s name, is owned by brothers Lazaro and Mysael De Vicente Claudio. They’re originally from Puebla — a Mexican state known for incredible food, including my absolute favorite dish, chiles en nogada (which is tragically absent from the menu).
Echos of Muramoto remain, including the sushi bar, but the space has been nicely remodeled to create an elegant-yet-rustic vibe. Photos of Mexican artists, colorful tile-topped tables and dark wooden chairs with the word “Cuco’s” carved on the backrests transform the space.
But every single one of those lovely chairs was empty when I first visited Cuco’s on a recent evening. While waiting for my date at the bar, I ordered a house margarita, available two-for-one during happy hour from 3-6 p.m. For half-price, it wasn’t half bad, and an array of flavors are served slushy-style or on the rocks. And for what it’s worth, Cuco’s has some pretty good drink specials — on a return visit, I particularly enjoyed a jumbo margarita, which is more than enough for two people. Priced at $13, it’s basically a three-for-one deal. There’s also a monster margarita for $20.
But flowing booze wasn’t enough to save the food. To be sure, there were a few bright spots. The queso fundido was delicious — rich, white cheese dip garnished liberally with spicy chorizo. We scooped it up with chips, discovering a smooth layer of black bean puree underneath. I would go back again just for this appetizer. But the nachos tradicionales were pathetic: a little pile of chips, lightly drizzled with the same white queso and refried beans, covered with chopped romaine, diced tomatoes and a blob of sour cream.
A seafood chile relleno was the best entree I tried. A roasted poblano comes stuffed with hunks of crab, scallops and shrimp, and topped with melted cheese and creamy ancho-citrus sauce, though neither flavor was perceptible. Rice and beans come on the side; overall it’s a solid dish that I’d happily order again. Street tacos, which come two to an order with a choice of filling and salsa, are also pretty good. They’re served in a handy metal taco holder, which helps keep things tidy. Pork (carnitas) and beef barbacoa are both tasty, but the meat was disappointingly dry. I did enjoy the array of salsas, which range from a mild green tomatillo to a smoky, fiery arbol sauce.
Tuna tartar was flavorless, save for the smoky chipotle sauce. But I appreciated the garnish of ripe avocado. Borrego lobster with lamb chops is prepared nicely, but it’s just plain lobster and plain lamb. The “special chef sauce” and pico de gallo were forgotten.
Where it really starts to fall apart is the sushi. Some of the fusion rolls showed promise, like La Reina Picante, which has yellowtail, red snapper and salmon topped with tobiko and chipotle sauce. But the Packers Fun Roll was no fun at all — the combination of asparagus, avocado, eel and cream cheese was bizarre. (The menu says it’s made with cheddar, which I think would have been worse.) The Bucky Badger roll was no better. The tuna on top was unpleasantly pale in color and sliced too thinly. Crab was imitation crab stick. At $17, this dish was unacceptable in every way.
I was going to try and say something nice about the service, which was friendly and attentive, but it sure as heck better be when so few tables are occupied.
Cuco’s Mexican Fusion
225 King St.; 608-255-4645; cucosmexicanfusion.com
10 am-10 pm Sun.-Thurs., 10 am-2 am Fri.-Sat.; $5-$29
